November was an incredibly busy month. We hosted an unforgettable Eco Camp, empowering young minds with knowledge about wildlife and the environment in the Masai Mara. Our support for community initiatives, like the TAFA Community Center, has strengthened our commitment to education and empowerment.

We also marked World AIDS Day, reinforced our guide training, and actively participated in conservation efforts like the UltraMARAthon and The Forest Challenge. Through these initiatives, we’re fostering a love for nature amongst our staff and community neighbours and inspiring positive change for the future.

EDUCATE 

Children in the Wilderness 

Eco Camp   

This month, we held an unforgettable annual camp with thirty enthusiastic Eco Club members from the Mara Rianda Primary School. Split into two groups, they spent two nights at Governors’ Private Camp, immersing themselves in nature and learning about conservation.  

CITW Eco Camp – photo credit Alisa Karstad

Experts from the Kenya Bird of Prey Trust, Mara Predator Conservation Program, and Mara Elephant Project led engaging sessions on raptors, human-wildlife conflict, and elephant conservation. The children learned about protecting wildlife, fostering harmony between humans and animals, and conserving the ecosystem. 

Experts from our partner conservation projects speak to the CITW children – photo credit Alisa Karstad

Beyond the presentations, the children toured Governors’ Camp, gaining insight into various departments and discovering diverse career opportunities within the tourism industry.  

CITW Eco Camp children tour Governors’ Camp – photo credit Alisa Karstad

They embarked on exciting game drives, witnessing wildlife in its natural habitat, further fuelling their conservation passion. The camp also nurtured their leadership skills and environmental stewardship, encouraging them to become future conservation leaders. 

One of the Marsh Pride lionesses – photo credit Alisa Karstad

CITW Eco Camp – photo credit Alisa Karstad

Evenings were filled with cultural exchanges around the campfire, strengthening bonds and celebrating their heritage. The camp was a resounding success, leaving a lasting impact on the children and hopefully inspiring them to appreciate and protect the environment. 

CITW Eco Camp – photo credit Alisa Karstad 

Eco Clubs 

While most eco club members enjoy a well-deserved break with their families during the school holidays, the young students at the TAFA Community Center remained hard at work! They have continued covering lessons on critical topics like water pollution, navigation, solar energy, and the impact of littering. Their commitment to environmental stewardship is evident, even as the classrooms are empty. 

TAFA EcoClub students continue their lessons through the school holiday – photo credit TAFA 

TAFA Community Center 

This month, we were pleased to have increased our support for the TAFA Community Center in several ways. We’ve upgraded their kitchen with a new gas burner, regulator, and hose pipe, allowing them to expand their important Uji (porridge) program and nourish even more children.

Children at TAFA Community Center enjoy a cup of uji – photo credit Sammy Kamau

We’ve also provided locally-made football goalposts and installed new clotheslines to encourage even more outdoor activities and help to keep their uniforms looking neat. We’re proud to support the Center’s fantastic work in the community. 

PROTECT 

The UltraMARAthon 

We were thrilled to have two teams, Shujaa and Simba, representing Governors’ Camp Collection in this year’s UltraMARAthon, a 50-kilometer footrace through the conservancies of the northern Masai Mara ecosystem. This unique event challenged participants while directly supporting vital conservation and community initiatives such as the Mara Elephant Project, the Africa Mission Services Birth Center, and Conservation/Ranger support within the four conservancies involved. 

Barasa, Evans, Ann and Owen – photo credit Dan Palmer 

Our teams tackled the muddy tracks, with Shujaa achieving an impressive 9th place (in the all men relay category) and Simba securing 5th (in the mixed relay category)! Beyond the race itself, Governors’ Camp also sponsored a water station, ensuring all participants stayed hydrated. Congratulations to Evans, Owen, Ann, Barasa, Bivon, Stephen, Mike, and Mark for their incredible effort and for representing us well.

The two Governors’ UltraMARAthon relay teams – photo credit Dan Palmer 

The Forest Challenge 

We also congratulate the twelve Governors’ Camp staff members who participated in this year’s Forest Challenge, held in the Kereita Forest within the Aberdare ecosystem. The event tested their limits while contributing to a crucial environmental initiative. 

The Governors’ Forest Challenge participants – photo credit George Waribu 

The Forest Challenge plays a vital role in Kenya’s environmental conservation efforts. For over a decade, it has funded the restoration of critical water towers through an extensive reforestation program, planting tens of thousands of indigenous trees each year.

This initiative combats deforestation and empowers local communities by providing sustainable income and employment opportunities. We commend our staff for their commitment to this vital cause. 

Mugie Cheetah Collaring 

In exciting news for cheetah conservation, Mwawili, a male cheetah who is part of a paired coalition with his brother Chongo, was successfully fitted with a GPS collar on Mugie Conservancy on November 10th. This important initiative, undertaken in partnership between the Conservancy and the Serendipity Cheetah Project, will provide valuable data on the cheetah’s movements, particularly its crossings along the A4 Rumuruti-Maralal Highway. The collar deployment aims to enhance the understanding of cheetah movement patterns across linear infrastructure and to inform management decisions on mitigating the negative externalities of such infrastructure on the species’ spatial ecology; ultimately contributing to the long-term conservation of this threatened species. 

Mwawili is fitted with a collar on Mugie Conservancy – photo credit Max Lovatelli 

The Pangolin Project 

Dan Palmer, our talented in-house photographer, recently played a crucial role in documenting the rescue of an orphaned giant ground pangolin pup in the Nyekweri Forest. 

The giant ground pangolin pup had to be removed from a tight burrow – photo credit Dan Palmer 

His photographs helped capture the plight of this vulnerable creature and highlight the incredible work of The Pangolin Project, which is dedicated to rescuing and rehabilitating pangolins, the most trafficked mammal in the world. 

The orphaned pangolin has measurements taken before being relocated to a safer area – photo credit Dan Palmer 

Eburru Rafiki  

As part of our ongoing commitment to reforestation, we continue to support Eburru Rafiki, a grassroots Community Based Organisation dedicated to restoring the Eburru Forest. We’re proud to have sponsored the planting and nurturing of 2,631 indigenous trees in and around this vital ecosystem. This initiative not only helps combat deforestation but also empowers local communities by providing them with sustainable livelihoods. 

A Mau black and white colobus monkey – photo credit Alisa Karstad

EMPOWER   

Guide Training 

This month was dedicated to enriching the knowledge and skills of our guides from both Kenya and Tanzania. Led by Wilderness Guide Trainer Frederic Ueberschaer, the intensive training program covered various topics, including advanced guiding techniques and in-depth knowledge of wildlife. Some of the team even had an incredible encounter with a crowned eagle, Africa’s most powerful eagle! 

A rare sighting of a crowned eagle in the Masai Mara – photo credit Frederic Ueberschaer

Adding to the excitement, Shiv Kapila from The Kenya Bird of Prey Trust provided specialised raptor-focused training, where guides observed a fascinating array of raptors including white-backed vultures, Rüppell’s vultures, hooded vultures, lappet-faced vultures, Steppe eagles, tawny eagles, Wahlberg’s eagles (in all their morphs!), Steppe buzzards, long-crested eagles, brown snake eagles, black-chested snake eagles, western banded snake eagles, bateleurs, African fish eagles, and several species of goshawks, harriers, kites, and kestrels. They even spotted a wood owl at Governors’ Camp and a Verreaux’s eagle owl at Governors’ Private Camp.  

A pair of nesting Wahlberg’s eagles – photo credit Alisa Karstad 

Experts from East African Reptiles led intensive snake-handling courses and our guides gained invaluable experience and confidence through hands-on learning, including emergency response and first aid techniques for snake bites. 

Snake training in the Masai Mara – photo credit Dan Palmer 

Our guides also benefited from presentations by the Mara Elephant Project and Dr. Elena Chelysheva from the Mara Meru Cheetah Project. We’re very proud of their commitment to continuous learning, ensuring our guests enjoy the safest and most enriching safari experience possible. 

Wilderness Tanzania and Governors’ Kenya guides in the Masai Mara – photo credit Alisa Karstad

Wilderness Tanzania and Governors’ Kenya guides in Mugie – photo credit Kevin Maimba

World Aids Day 

For the first time, we were pleased to have been able to help the Lolgorian Sub County Hospital in support of their World AIDS Day celebration in Narok. The event was reported to have been a resounding success. They were able to graduate 30 HIV-exposed infants who tested negative for the disease after 18 months of treatment, conduct a comprehensive medical camp with HIV testing and counselling, launch the Konnect Youth Consortium’s strategic plan for 2025-2029, and plant tree seedlings in schools, churches, and police posts.  

World AIDS Day Event in Narok Town – photo Credit Dr Sankale

We’re dedicated to supporting the health and well-being of our community neighbours and protecting and conserving our ecosystems and wildlife. Your stay with us directly contributes to these efforts, positively impacting the people and the land. 

By Alisa Karstad, Impact Manager for Governors’ Camp Collection. If you would like to learn more about any of our Community and Conservation efforts, you can reach out to us via email at info@governorscamp.com

If you’d like to support our work, you can use our secure online payment platform, which is linked below.

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